Healthy Eating

Healthy eating starts by making informed food choices. Choosing a variety of nutrient-rich foods as the foundation of what you eat can help you live a longer, healthier life. Tufts experts keep you up to date on everything from shopping for the best meats, fish, fruits and vegetables to nutrition-smart food preparation and more.

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Vitamins & Supplements

The best way to get the nutrients your body needs is by eating a balanced diet. But it's not always easy to meet your daily requirements of certain nutrients from food alone. Tufts experts separate the facts from the hype on supplements. You'll find unbiased information on vitamins like B-complex, C, D and E, supplements like omega-3 and lutein and essential minerals like magnesium and potassium and how they can protect or, in high doses, even harm your health.

Exercise & Mobility

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercise can prevent weight gain, help you lose weight, reduce your risk for chronic diseases, even improve your mood. There are many ways for older adults to include physical activity and promote mobility. You'll discover in-depth ideas for protecting your mobility and independence, and receive the latest news on joint health, inflammation, and healthy bones.

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Healthy Heart

A healthy heart is essential to remaining active and full of energy. Protecting your heart is easier than you might think. Taking steps such as limiting certain fats and including "good fats" that improve your cholesterol can reduce your risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. You'll learn about the most important steps you can take to ensure a healthy heart from the experts at Tufts.

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Healthy Mind

Understanding how our brain functions is related to what we eat is an emerging area of fascinating scientific discovery. Learn how certain foods and nutrients affect cognition, and get the facts about brain-boosting foods such as green tea and dark chocolate so you can live the most mentally healthy lifestyle possible for years to come.

Healthy Aging

Feeling fit and well will help you get the most out of your everyday life as you age. Tufts experts will give you the knowledge to manage your health and offer tips on to increase your energy and maintain your independence. Stay on top of the latest health research to get the most out of life.

Q. What is cardiometabolic disease and how is it different from cardiovascular disease?

Processed meat has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to alter flavor or improve preservation. Most processed meats contain pork or beef, but might also contain other red meats, poultry, organs, or blood. Source: International Agency for Research on Cancer.

A. Cardiovascular disease can be thought of as one of many different cardiometabolic diseases. José Ordovás, PhD, director of the Nutrition and Genomics Research Lab at Tufts’ HNRCA, explains further: “Cardiovascular diseases include heart attack, stroke, angina (chest pain) and other disorders of the vascular system. Cardiometabolic diseases include these cardiovascular conditions, plus others, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Cardiometabolic diseases tend to have a number of risk factors in common.

“Cardiometabolic risk factors include, at minimum, abdominal obesity (waistline 40 inches or more in men, 35 inches or more in women); high fasting triglycerides; low ‘good’ HDL cholesterol; and elevated blood pressure. These four factors together are often referred to as metabolic syndrome.

“When two or more of these risk factors coexist, it doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke and increases the risk of diabetes by a factor of 5 (both over a period of 5 to 10 years). Some experts have proposed additional cardiometabolic risk factors, including high levels of C-reactive protein in the blood, a marker of chronic inflammation thought to contribute to cardiovascular disease.

“Risk factors allow doctors and researchers to identify individuals who may be at risk of more serious cardiometabolic diseases and take corrective action. If you have risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, the first step is to institute changes in lifestyle, such as losing weight and eating a healthier diet.”